Mall of the Rising Dead
by Pyropig93
Summary: A family is trapped inside Willamette Mall during the zombie outbreak. Now they have to wait three days for Frank's helicopter to arrive. In the meantime, can they survive zombies, psychopaths, and each other?
1. The Day Before

**SEPTEMBER 18, 5:30 PM**

Arthur walked into the gym in Al Fresca Plaza, Flexin'. He was greeted by the musty smell of sweat and rubber. An attractive anchorwoman was on the hanging digital TV, commenting about the circulating virus with flu-like symptoms. A picture behind her showed an image of a normal girl with a thermometer in her mouth and a bag of ice on her head.

Megan, Arthur's girlfriend, was walking slowly on a treadmill far to the back of the gym. She saw her boyfriend approach and stopped her machine. Arthur casually strolled over to her.

"Not even a sweat?" he asked, snidely.

"That's not fair," pouted Meg. "It's like my body doesn't want to lose weight." She lifted her tank top slightly in response.

"That's not fat," Arthur commented. "That's just healthy."

"I don't like it," muttered Meg. "It jiggles."

Meg's stomach protruded not more than a centimeter from the restrictive waistband below it.

"That's because you don't have any abs," said Arthur. "A treadmill isn't going to help you. You have to do crunches."

"They hurt my neck," remarked Meg.

"That's because you don't do them right." Arthur ruffled her hair, and then pulled her in close for a romantic hug. "Get dressed and we'll meet your parents at the Dark Bean."

"Did they get my birthday present?" asked Meg.

"You'll find out once you get dressed." Arthur patted her back and turned to leave the gym.

Behind them, the anchorwoman stopped talking as a scowl crossed her face. She lifted her hand to rub her temple. Deep lines traced themselves through her heavily powdered face.

**5:40 PM**

"Hey honey," called Kale from his table in the Food Court. His wife, Donna, looked up from her cell phone and the text message she had been working. She told her son, Davie, to sit down in his chair and stop calling attention to himself.

Megan giggled and led Arthur to her father's table. She took a seat by her father, and Arthur stuck a chair from another table between her and her half-brother. From this angle, he could see the resemblance between Meg and her father. She had his light brown hair and kind face. Davie, though, took nothing from Kale. He had his mom's curly blond hair and red lips.

"Did you get my present?" Meg asked her father, hopefully.

"I sure did," Kale whispered. "Do you want to give it to her, Davie?"

"No," sneered Davie.

"Now now, dear," sighed Donna. "Give Megan her present."

Davie handed Meg a rectangular wrapped package. When Meg grabbed it, he stuck out his tongue. Meg returned the gesture and proceeded to unwrap the present.

"Oh my gosh!" she cried. "I love you, Dad!" She gave him a bear hug.

Arthur reached over to grab the CD she had received. "_Detritus_? Who the heck are they?"

"They're the best band, ever!" replied Meg. "This is their new album, _Love Rocks_."

"I see the word play," commented Arthur.

"Alright, kids," said Kale. "Tomorrow's a school day. I think we should leave around… Eight- Thirty?"

"Sure," said Meg. "That's just enough time to visit Players."

"You just got a CD!" said Arthur.

"I need to plan for Christmas," replied Meg.

"Actually," coughed Kale, "I was hoping you'd take Davie to the Space Rider."

"What!?" cried Meg. "Why do I have to?"

"Well, Donna and I need to visit Seon's," said Kale. "We need to pick up this week's groceries."

"That's not fair," wailed Meg. "It's my birthday!"

"Too bad," Davie sneered. "You gotta take me because I can't go by myself."

"You're ten years old," said Meg. "I don't see why you can't stand in line for a stupid roller coaster by yourself."

"Don't say that," remarked Kale. "What if he decides to wander off by himself? Or he could be kidnapped. There might be psychopaths in this mall."

"Dad, this is Willamette, Colorado," stated Meg. "Nothing exciting will ever happen."

Kale opened his mouth to remark, but Donna cut him off.

"Meggie," she said, sweetly, "will you come with me for a second."

Megan rolled her eyes, but stood up to follow her stepmother. "What do you want?"

"Cut the attitude," snarled Donna. "Now, I know it's your birthday and that it's supposed to be a nice date with your little boyfriend, but Davie deserves to have a good time, too. Would it really kill you to take him to the stupid ride while I go buy food for you?"

Megan sighed, but knew she was beaten. "Alright, fine."

**6:30 PM**

In the twenty minutes that Megan and Arthur stood with Davie for Space Rider, they had managed to go up two steps. At least, Arthur pointed out to Megan around 6:25, they had cleared the playground.

**8:15 PM**

Megan's cell phone rang. She answered it.

"Honey?" asked her dad? "Can you come to the Entrance Plaza, please?"

"Dad, we're still waiting for Space Rider. Davie's next."

"Honey," Kale said with forced calmness, "you need to hurry."

"Meg!" Arthur called from beside the parked car. "It's our turn."

"I'm coming," she said. "Dad, we'll meet you in a second." She hung up her phone and dropped it into her handbag.

"You okay, Little Lady?" asked Adam the Clown from the exit. "You look a little _streeeesssed_!" As he said the last part, his red nose stretched a whole foot from his face.

"It's nothing," said Meg.

"It's her birthday," said Davie.

"Oh! Her birthday!" giggled Adam. "That's wonderiffic! How old are you, Little Lady?"

"Seventeen," said Megan.

"Seventeen!?" sputtered Adam. "The Little Lady ain't so little!"

Little kids around Adam began to giggle.

"Am I cleared, now?" asked the man operating the Space Rider.

"Go ahead, Greg," said Adam. "He's a little pissy," he whispered to Meg and Arthur.

The spaceship lifted Meg, Arthur, and Davie onto the track and began to fly over Wonderland Plaza. They flew straight toward a giant pink rabbit, pulling up at the last second. Then they flew over the second level, traveling hundreds of feet over shoppers who were hurrying home.

They exited the ride and traveled to the Entrance Plaza. There was a huge crowd of people at the entrance. A short, chubby black guy in a janitor's suit was standing before the doors. The people were shouting at him to move.

"What's going on?" asked Meg, worriedly.

"Megan!" shouted Kale. He and Donna were on the second floor.

The kids went up to join them. "What's going on, Dad?" Meg asked her father.

"It's bad, outside," said Kale. "People are saying that the flu-like virus is killing them. They say that bio-terrorists are attacking us. That man is urging us to stay in the mall."

"What do you mean?" asked Arthur. "Why can't we go home?"

"There are riots, outside," said Kale. "People are killing themselves and saying that the world is ending. I think we're staying here, tonight."

There was a loud crash at the doors. Megan turned to see the mob of people spill out of the mall. Arthur rushed to the scene and knelt by the janitor. His nametag read Otis.

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah," grunted Otis. "Some punk just took a swing at me, and then they all just stampeded. I tried to warn 'em, too. Shows what the world's worth."

"Is it really bio-terrorism?" asked Arthur.

"What?" croaked Otis.

"The virus," Arthur elaborated. "Could it really be from terrorists?"

"I don't care about that," said Otis. "All I knows is that there's riots and explosions and I didn't want any of them people to get hurt." He lurched forward and pulled himself to his feet. "If you're staying the night, I could let you stay in the Security Room. This mall is big and only has one entrance. It's much safer than anywhere else, nearby."

Arthur nodded. "That would be great. I'm actually here with my girlfriend and her dad."

"Anyone's welcome," said Otis. "It's just through that door."

That would be the last peaceful night they would share for a long time.


	2. Zombie Attack

**SEPTEMBER 19, 6:00 AM**

It was the cold that finally woke Megan up. She stirred on the couch in the Monitor Room. Donna was curled in a tight ball with all the covers over in the corner of the couch. Davie was on another couch outside. Kale was asleep on the office chair by the screens. Arthur had been set up on a cot in a separate room with other survivors.

Megan rolled quietly off the couch and moved over to the monitors. One screen was monitoring the parking lot outside of the Entrance Plaza. Several people were shown running toward the doors with suitcases and some with guns. Even some cars pulled in tightly.

"What is going on out there?" Meg whispered to herself. "Is this because of the virus?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" muttered a big man behind her.

Megan turned around to see a black man dressed in a fine yellow shirt and gray trousers. Behind him, a young woman with short blonde hair and a gray dress and jacket peered at her through rimless glasses.

"Who are you?" demanded Otis as he entered the room, cautiously.

"My name is Brad," said the man. "My partner, Jessie, and I are agents from the Department of Homeland Security. We're here to find a man who we believe may be behind this chaos."

"You mean a terrorist?" asked Megan in disbelief.

"We don't know that yet," remarked Jessie. "We would like to set up base here."

"Go ahead," said Otis. "I ain't the boss. Just don't break anything."

The conversation had woken Kale and Donna. They now stood up and crossed to Megan.

"What's going on?" asked Kale. "Is it safe to leave?"

"Hard to say," replied Brad. "Though it seems that people are trying to get in here."

"If you want to move around," said Otis, "there's a group of people by the doors. You might find out more information from the new arrivers."

"Sounds good to me," said Kale. "It's time we got moving, anyway."

"Yay," sighed Donna. "It's too cold in here."

Meg went to the room in which Arthur was sleeping. She silently shook him awake.

"Yeah…?" he mumbled.

"We're going to the Entrance Plaza," whispered Meg. "Want to join us?"

"Yeah," he said. "Just give me a moment."

**7:00 AM**

Megan and Arthur stood apart from the crowd in the Entrance Plaza. An old, fat guy was ushering the last of the crowd in. When the rushed thinned into a trickle, he ordered to other men to pull a gate over the outer doors. People on the other side began to shout and cry.

"Let us in!" shouted one man. "For the love of God!"

"Find somewhere else!" barked the man in charge. "This place is full."

"But there are zombies!" cried a young woman. "They're not here, yet! There's still time! Let us in!"

An inside man looked about ready to lift the gate, when the one in charge smacked his hand away.

"We can't help you," he snarled. "Just get lost!"

He closed the first set of doors and locked them. Then he came into the mall and began to order everyone to barricade the outer set.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked a passing man.

"Didn't you hear him?" grumbled the man. "There are zombies out there. The virus turned everyone into zombies. But they're not going to get in here."

"This is terrible," whimpered Megan.

"Let's go tell your parents," said Arthur.

**9:05 AM**

Kale laid another bench from the Al Fresca plaza in front of the doors. He straightened up and stretched his back. Looking out into the parking lot, he could see the last of the outsiders had split. He still hadn't seen these so-called zombies. How was he supposed to know that the people inside weren't all crazy?

Megan appeared behind him. "Dad…?" she whispered.

"What?" he huffed.

"Do you think there are really zombies out there?"

"How am I supposed to know?" he sighed. "I personally think that everyone's lost their minds. Zombies are only in movies and video games."

"But what other explanation is there?" demanded Megan. "All of these people can't be wrong."

"What are you saying?" barked Kale. "You honestly want to say that there are zombies outside?"

"I don't know!" Megan shouted back.

"Don't shout at me," Kale scolded.

"Why not!?" Megan shouted again. "There are zombies!"

"There are not zombies!" roared Kale.

Megan shut up, then. Her left hand had curled into a fist and began to shake. "I should never have come here," she muttered.

"Excuse me?" gasped Kale.

"I should have stayed with Mom," Meg reiterated. "At least she would have believed me about the zombies."

"Is this really about your mother?" demanded Kale.

"No!" cried Meg. "It's never about Mom! It's about you and your new wife and son! It's about you demanding that you have me with you on my birthday because spending the summer with you isn't enough."

"Do not start this," commanded Kale.

"Leave me alone!" cried Megan.

She turned around and ran. Kale watched her go. Sometimes Megan was so compulsive. It probably didn't go as deep as she pretended it did. She was just upset about this disturbance, not being with him. Why should she be upset about spending more time with her father?

**11:30 AM**

It was about this time that their fears were confirmed and zombies showed up at the mall doors. At first, the people inside the mall were only able to stand in place and watch the mindless undead stumble against the bars. They didn't think. They just saw warm bodies and wanted a taste.

**12:15 PM**

It seemed that the zombies wouldn't get any further than the bars, but an unnaturally aggressive zombie shouldered its way to the front of the horde and began to tear at the bars.

"Whoa," whispered a particularly dorky person, "it seems that some zombies can think and act."

"What does that mean for us?" Arthur asked him.

"It means that some zombies are actually aware of their surroundings," hypothesized the smart man. "The majority of them bump around until they catch their prey, while others hunt for their prey. I wonder if it has anything to do with the person they were before being zombified."

"Does that mean they might make it into the mall?" gasped Megan.

"Not if your little barricade holds up," said the man. He lifted a giant camera that dangled from a lanyard around his neck and snapped a picture. "The name's Kent, by the way. I came here to study these zombies."

He walked up the stairs and further into the mall. There was a giant gate still down in the middle of the first floor. The guards hadn't lifted it since the mall was closed the previous night. If the zombies made it into the building, everyone would be able to retreat up the stairs and set up a secondary defense system behind the shelter of the gate. It also made a bad corner to find yourself in.

An old lady hobbled up to them. "Have any of you seen Madonna?" she asked.

"The pop star?" asked Arthur.

"No, you nitwit!" she snapped. "My poodle! I haven't seen her since I came in here. I hope she isn't making a mess…" She continued to mumble to herself as she moved away to another group of people.

"Hey," whispered Megan, "check her out."

She nudged Arthur and pointed toward a Hispanic woman leaning on a pillar. Her black hair fell past her shoulder blades, her white shirt ended above her midriff, and her gray eyes were piercing the scene of people.

Arthur noticed that someone else was checking her out, as well. It was a bulky man in a brown suit and holding a camera, just like Kent. The big man from before got in his face and began to shout at him to get a move on. The Hispanic woman slipped away while the man with the camera was distracted.

"That was weird," said Arthur.

"Yeah," said Megan, thoughtfully. "He's coming toward us."

Arthur and Meg moved out of his way. The man with the camera walked toward a pile of extra resources when he noticed an old man on the other side of the bars. He picked up his camera and took a picture. The old man began to shake his cane at the photographer and shout at him.

"What a weirdo," said Arthur, "photographing old men and young women."

"Sounds like a serial rapist to me," said Megan.

"Hey!" came the cry from across the plaza. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Megan and Arthur spun around to see the old woman tearing down the barricade. "Madonna!" she cried. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'm coming!"

The poodle was standing in the entranceway with the zombies, snarling and foaming.

"Holy crap," gasped Arthur, "she's letting the zombies in."

"Oh no," gulped Megan.

In an instant, the old woman and two men who were trying to stop her were overrun by zombies, and more spilling past them.

"What do we do!?" shrieked Megan. "They're blocking the stairs! We're cornered!"

"What the hell are you people doing!?" shouted Brad from the second floor. "Get up here, now!"

The man with the camera suddenly appeared next to them. He hefted a bench into the crook of his arm and began to charge the zombies. They began to fall away by the dozens.

"Come on!" shouted Arthur, grabbing Megan's hand. "He's making a path for us."

Together, they ran behind the photographer. Meg almost tripped when she stepped on a broken zombie. She let out a yelp, and turned her head. From her vantage point, she saw a woman being torn apart by a pack of zombies while she was still screaming. After that, Megan decided to just keep her eyes clammed shut.

Finally, they made it back into the Security Room. Otis locked the door behind them and began to weld it shut. Arthur led Megan to a couch. Donna burst into the room.

"What happened?" she cried.

"Zombies," replied Arthur. "They made it into the mall."

"Is everyone okay?" asked Brad. "Where are all the others?"

"We're the only ones who made it in here," said the man in the brown suit.

Brad looked him up and down. "Who the heck are you?"

"I'm Frank West, Photojournalist," said the man. "I'm here to investigate the riots."

"Riots?" snorted Brad.

"Wait," gasped Donna. "If you all are the only ones from out there, then where is my husband?"

Megan's eyes widened. "Dad?"


	3. Kent

**SEPTEMBER 19, 1:00 PM**

"DAD!?" gasped Megan. "He's not here!? We left him outside!!"

She made a dash for the welded door, but Arthur grabbed her.

"Don't," he grumbled, "it's full of zombies."

"I don't care!" Megan wailed. "We have to help him!"

"Listen," said the man, Frank, moving between her and the door, "if he's still out there, I'll find him."

"Don't tell me you're thinking of going out there, too," muttered Brad.

"I have to," remarked Frank. "I need to get my story."

Brad was about to make a retort, when Jessie clasped his shoulder. "Brad," she said, "it's him."

Jessie pointed to a monitor above the desk where she had taken a seat. Brad and everyone else turned to the screen in time to see a lanky figure slink into the Food Court.

"Damn," muttered the DHS agent. He grabbed his pistol from the desk and made a move to the door. "If I need you, I'll motion to the camera."

"Wait," said Otis. "The door is welded shut. If you want to move, you'll have to go through this pipe. It leads to the roof of the Paradise Plaza."

"Thanks, sir," said Brad. He saluted to the group in the monitor room and crawled into the pipe.

With the excitement suddenly drained from them, Donna fell onto the couch and covered her face, Megan slumped into Arthur, and Frank scratched the back of his leg with his foot.

"It looks like I'm also out of here," said Frank.

"Where are you planning on going?" asked Jessie.

"I'm going to get my story," said Frank. "And help these people out." He motioned toward Megan and Donna.

"Thank you," whispered Donna, tiredly. She stood to her feet and left the room, having nothing else to do or say.

"Wait," said Megan to Frank, "take us with you."

"Seriously?" smirked Frank. "I think you'd be safer here."

"But… my father…"

"Listen," sighed Frank, "I'll do my best to keep my eye out for him, but there's nothing you can do. Just stay here and be safe."

He left the room, had a word with Otis, received a map and transceiver, and crawled out of the pipe. Jessie turned her gaze back to the pipe. Megan turned to look at Arthur.

"I'll go," sighed Arthur.

"Will you?" asked Megan. "I don't think they'd have a problem with you."

"I'm going now," said Arthur. He left the monitor room and crawled into the pipe.

Megan stood in the monitor room, feeling the awkwardness rise. After what felt like thirty minutes but wasn't even three, Arthur crawled back in followed by an elderly couple and Frank.

"I'm never going to the mall again," sobbed the woman, "as long as I live."

"Don't worry," Frank assured her, "the helicopter is going to be here by Friday."

"There's a helicopter coming?" gasped Megan.

"Yeah," said Arthur. "Frank's buddy is going to pick him up in seventy two hours."

"That should be long enough for me to get my story, anyway," Frank remarked. "Which means I should be on my way."

He left again. Arthur walked back into the monitor room.

"Don't leave again," whispered Megan, "unless I'm with you."

"I won't," he whispered back.

Jessie suddenly jumped to her feet. "Oh no," she muttered. "Brad needs help."

She grabbed a pistol of her own and ran out of the room. She looked kind of funny and off balance with her high heels.

"Look," said Arthur, "now's our chance."

"Are you sure?" whimpered Megan. "We don't have a way to defend ourselves."

"We'll find something in the mall," said Arthur. "We could go to the Huntin' Shack or Ripper's Blades. There are plenty of weapons dealers in this place."

Megan closed her eyes and took a big sigh. "Okay, let's go."

**3:30 PM**

Arthur slowly opened the door of the warehouse into Paradise Plaza, and gasped. There were at least five hundred undead people walking around the plaza. They collected into small groups and didn't occupy the greater part of the floor. Most of the zombies stumbled stupidly around, tripping over themselves and falling into the small pools and fountains. Some zombies seemed to be more aware of their surroundings and were actually climbing and searching for prey.

"This is going to be difficult," said Arthur. "But if we get the right weapons, we might stand a chance."

Megan poked her head out beside him. "Whoa…"

The full scope of the situation had yet to dawn on her. The entire town of Willamette had been zombified. Undead hordes were infecting her hometown, and might even be composed of her friends and family. The hopelessness of their situation settled uncomfortably in her mind.

A zombie police officer strolled by the warehouse door. His flesh had become gray, his eyes were pupil-less and unseeing. His once blonde hair was losing its color and falling out. Several sores were opening across his dead flesh and pus and blood were beginning to collect, and in some cases, spill out.

Arthur motioned for Megan to move back. Then he brought the door further back and let it fly into the zombie. The walking corpse flew back, dropping a handgun and nightstick. Arthur rushed forward and grabbed the weapons. The commotion had alerted a crowd of nearby zombies and they began to stumble forward. Arthur threw the nightstick to his girlfriend, and then began to fire into the crowd.

Megan caught the nightstick, but didn't know how to hold it. It was just a short black pole with a branch near one of its ends. She dropped it and instead picked up a trash receptacle and threw it into the crowd. It crashed into a zombie's face and the top flew off. A hunting knife fell out along with other pieces of garbage.

"That's weird," Megan shouted to Arthur, "there are weapons in the trash cans."

"There was a lot of gang activity in the mall," said Arthur. He fired another round into a zombie. His gun then began to click, registering empty. Arthur threw it at a zombie and picked up the discarded nightstick. He expertly flipped it around his arm, grasping the branch, and plunged into the zombies.

Megan clutched her knife shakily and made a swipe at a zombie that was reaching for her. She brought the knife across its face and a spurt of blood rushed from the wound. Megan jumped back with a yelp, and two more zombies filled in the space of their vanquished comrade.

"Arthur!" she screeched. "Help!"

Arthur stopped beating his crowd of undead, and turned toward Meg. The gap between them was too great, and the zombies filling it were too numerous.

"Hold on!" he cried as he tried to wade through the horde of walking corpses.

Megan stumbled backward and fell into a pool. She was now huddled in a corner, surrounded on three sides by zombies.

"No!" she wailed, swinging her knife uselessly at the zombies. "Help me!"

"I'm trying!" called Arthur. He whacked a zombie aside. Another jumped in front of him, but this one was intelligent. Arthur tried to knock it back with his nightstick, but the zombie evaded it and swiped at Arthur's stomach. Arthur moaned in pain and terror as blood began to well up in the thin scratches across his gut.

Meg wailed again, as a zombie reached out for her. She stabbed its hand with the hunting knife. The zombie had a slight spasm and knocked the knife away from Meg. Zombies began to fall in around her at all sides.

"No!" she shrieked.

The wounded zombie leaned into her face, and its head exploded. Old blood and slime fell onto her tank top. Another zombie's head exploded next to Megan, and she realized that someone was shooting them. She looked up and saw the smart guy, Kent, shooting the zombies from the staircase she was under.

"I'm here to help, babe," he called. He leaped down and did a round-house kick, rocketing the surrounding zombies back and causing a domino effect that sent the nearby horde to the ground in a confused mess.

Arthur stabbed the zombie predator in the head with the nightstick and ran over to his girlfriend and their savior. Megan wrapped her arms around Arthur and they stood there, shivering and embracing while Kent snapped a picture.

"Hey," muttered Arthur, "a little privacy please?"

"Sorry," chuckled Kent, "I just wanted to record this joyous reunion for my story."

"You're also doing a story on the zombie infection?" asked Megan. She was still shivering.

"So you met that ass, Frank?" snorted Kent. "He's such a noob; I doubt he'll get anything."

Megan and Arthur just stared at him. "Uhh… yeah," agreed Arthur after awhile. "Where did he go, anyway?"

"Through Leisure Park," said Kent, pointing to the glass doors across the Plaza. "He was going to the Food Court for whatever reason."

"Okay," said Arthur. "Let's go, Meg."

"Wait," whispered Megan. She looked at Kent with quizzical eyes. "You weren't in the Security Room," she said to Kent.

"That's right," he replied. "So?"

"That means that the others in the Entrance Plaza could still be alive!" she gasped. "Tell me, did anyone else come out with you?"

"Well," muttered Kent, "when the old hag opened the doors and let the walking corpses in, I ran back and out into here. I'm pretty sure no one followed me, though, because I closed the gate behind me."

Sure enough, the gate from Paradise Plaza to Entrance Plaza was closed.

"Where else could they have gone?" asked Megan.

"From the Entrance Plaza," replied Arthur, "anyone could have gone into Al Fresca Plaza, and from there to the Food Court. So if we can meet Frank in the Food Court, he could help us look for your father."

"Good luck," said Kent. "I'm going to stay here and photograph those zombies. You guys have fun, though." He began to walk away, but stopped. "If you're going to survive here," he said, turning around, "you'll need weapons."

He gave them his handgun, with two extra sets of ammo, and an extra hunting knife.

"Are you sure?" asked Arthur. "Don't you need these?"

"Oh, I can kill any cop for these things," cackled Kent. He took a quick glance at their shocked expressions. "I meant the zombified cops."

"Oh," sighed Megan. "I was almost sure you were serious."

"Don't worry," said Kent. "I'm not a psychopath."

"Oh, we know," said Arthur. Then to Meg, "Let's go."

She nodded. "Okay, let's go save my father."


	4. Psychos, Survivors, and Lawn Mowers

**SEPTEMBER 19, 5:00 PM**

The afternoon sky was a blood red sea over the ocean of writhing zombies in Leisure Park. Arthur and Megan were wading through the waves of the undead, killing only the ones that got in their way and trying to dodge the rest. Zombies by themselves were no big deal, as they were all stupid, but they were quite the threat when surrounding you.

The two survivors finally pulled beside the giant clock tower that marked the center of Leisure Park. The park itself was the center of the mall. Willamette Parkview Mall was a giant square with the Entrance Plaza protruding from one of its corner's. From Entrance Plaza, one could go east into Paradise Plaza which led to Colby's Cinema. One could also go west to Al Fresca Plaza which was a thin outdoor walkway crowded by zombies. Al Fresca led to the Food Court which connected to Wonderland Plaza. The North Plaza was attached to Wonderland Plaza, and contained Seon's supermarket and many other goods & services stores. North Plaza, Paradise Plaza, and the Food Court all had entrances to Leisure Park.

Arthur and Megan ended their break and sprinted straight ahead to the Food Court doors. They could see Brad, the African-American DHS agent, ducking behind a counter and Frank running across the floor. There were dull sounds coming from within, probably gunfire. The doors were blocked by hordes of zombies trying to get in and not knowing quite how to do so.

"We need to clear the way, somehow," Arthur told Megan.

She nodded. "Do you have any ideas how?"

Arthur scanned the area and saw a lawn mower in a field of unruly grass. "I bet we could use that to mow them down."

Megan gulped and took a step back. "You do it."

Arthur sighed. "Yeah," he remarked, "I was planning on it."

He walked up to the large red mower. It was old and covered in rust. He could see the giant drawstring he would need to pull in order to start the gas engine. The protective lid had fallen away, meaning that anything that got too close was going to get sucked in.

Arthur looked at the crowd of zombies, to his girlfriend, and back to the mower. He took a long breath, and then started the mower. It vibrated sharply under his hands. It created an extremely loud churning sound. The zombies at the door stopped wallowing and looked at the new threat. Arthur charged at them with the mower. It hit the concrete path and backfired back, slamming the handle bar into Arthur's gut. The recoil reacted dully with the mower and it shut off, black smoke billowing from the spent mower.

Arthur ran back to Megan with a solemnly blank face and his hands in an apologetic shrug.

"I guess that's out of the question," he remarked meekly.

"Look!" gasped Megan, pointing to the failed mower.

The zombies that were crowding the door began to abandon their post and inspect the mower.

"This is our chance," said Arthur. "Let's go!"

They ran for the Food Court doors and ducked inside. As they did so, the glass above Megan's head exploded as a machine gun bullet went through it. She yelped and hit the ground. Arthur grabbed her right shoulder and left elbow and dragged her behind the wine stand.

Brad took advantage of the misfire and shot at the gunner. It was a Hispanic man with long hair who was prancing about the billboards and awnings of the various restaurants with a machine gun. Brad's bullet hit him in the shoulder and the man stumbled behind a wooden support beam.

Brad jumped up and ran to the seating area with Frank emerging to aid him from behind a stack of barrels. They stood on the deck and surveyed the higher area. When they looked away from where he was positioned, the Hispanic man raced from behind the support beam and placed his foot in a suspended rope. It lifted him high into the ceiling.

"Damn," said Brad, "he got away!"

"It's okay," said Frank, placing a hand on Brad's shoulder. "Now do you mind telling me what's going on here?"

"I can't," said Brad. "Much of it, I don't know. All I do know is classified."

"Jessie told me you were looking for someone?" said Frank.

"Oh she did?" grumbled Brad. "That's already too much information."

"Does it have to do with this man?" asked Frank, showing Brad his camera.

Brad's face turned dark and angry. He shoved the camera away, and Arthur caught a glimpse of the image in the camera. It was the old man from the Entrance Plaza that morning!

"Where did you see him?" demanded Brad.

"So now you need me, huh?" remarked Frank.

Brad turned on him. "Listen," he snarled, "this man is a very important clue in solving the case of the zombie attacks. His name is Dr. Barnaby. Someone contacted him and told him to be at the mall today. We believe that man, Carlito, could be the one who contacted him and might also be the reason for the zombies. So are you going to help us, or not?"

Frank put the camera around his neck again and smirked. "So I'm part of the loop?"

"Yes," sighed Brad.

"Okay," said Frank, "I saw him in the bookstore at the Entrance Plaza."

"Alright," said Brad. "Let's go." He turned to the wine stand. "You two come with us. It's dangerous for you to be alone. I guess you're part of this now, anyway."

Arthur nodded, and walked with Megan to the two men.

"Excuse me," said Megan, "but if you could help, I think my father could be somewhere in Al Fresca Plaza."

"We'll look for him, too," said Brad. "Right now, it's imperative we rescue Dr. Barnaby."

**6:00 PM**

Al Fresca Plaza was always a traffic disaster when the mall had reached its biggest shopping hour. The path was very narrow, and it was difficult to maneuver through crowds of bumbling people trying to get into their stores. It was even worse now with flesh-eating zombies crowding the streets.

Brad and Frank took the front, Megan was behind them, and Arthur stood to her right. The group hung to the left side, avoiding the largest of the zombie crowds in the center. They walked up to the corner, when they heard two voices arguing from behind a barricade.

"Those people are still alive!" gasped Arthur.

"Hey!" called Frank. "Anyone in there?"

The voices stopped, but their hiding spot was already given away.

"I'm coming in there," said Frank. "Stay away from the doors." He removed a bench and tossed it aside. Brad covered him, shooting down any zombies that came too close.

When Frank cleared the barricade, a man in a red shirt attacked him with a bat. "Hell no!" he said. "Not another one!"

Frank ducked away and landed a solid punch to the man's face. He fell backward and dropped his bat. He rolled and went for it, but Frank kicked it away.

"Please!" shrieked the man. "Please don't hurt me! I'm just trying to protect myself."

"Don't worry," said Frank, "I'm not going to hurt you. There's a security room where you can be safe. I have a helicopter coming in three days."

The man blinked. "Really? Why didn't you just say so? I'm coming with you. My name's Burt."

"Wait!" cried another man in a blue shirt. "I'm coming too!"

"Hurry up, Aaron!" shouted Burt. "We're going to a safe place."

Burt picked his bat back up, and Aaron grabbed a wooden plank.

"Can we go, now?" demanded Brad. "Dr. Barnaby could leave any minute now."

"Wait!" gasped Arthur. "There's a woman in that jewelry store."

"For the love of Pete!" roared Brad. He turned to Frank. "You guys go ahead to the Entrance Plaza, I'll get the girl."

Frank nodded, and the group went to the Entrance Plaza doors. Just like with the Food Court, the doors were crowded by zombies trying to figure out how to get the doors open.

"We'd better clear them out," he told his group. "Any ideas?"

"We could distract them," said Arthur. "It worked when I tried to get into the Food Court."

"That won't work," whispered Megan. "There's nowhere for them to go except to us. We have to kill them."

"Hold up," said Burt. "I've got an idea." He ran to the fountain in the center of the plaza and jumped in. He reached around on his knees until he came back up with a small gun.

"What is that?" gasped Aaron. "A submachine gun?"

"Yeah," said Burt, "I was part of a gang before I made the others mad. One of the things we did, in case of a gang war, was we hid weapons around the mall. That way we could kill any opposition who came into our territory."

"You told me about that," Megan said to Arthur, turning to him. "How did you know?"

Arthur just stared at the zombies ahead of them. Finally he said, "I also used to be part of the Parkview Gang. Before I met you, my life was pretty messed up. My dad died and my mom didn't want me, anymore. I was placed in a foster home, but my new parents only adopted me for the government payment. So I used to run away a lot and I found the Parkview Gang. They offered companionship and a family."

He stopped here to look into Megan's face. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open. She had unconsciously formed a fist with her right hand and placed it on her chest.

"But I got in trouble with the cops and my foster parents threatened to send me back to the orphanage, and I didn't want to go back there. So I quit the Parkview Gang and tried to turn my life around."

Megan gulped back an alien substance in her throat. It tasted strongly, like vomit. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" she asked quietly.

"I didn't want you to think I was some street hood," he told her.

"I would never judge you," she said slowly. She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You never have to worry about me."

"I know," he said. "Let's go save your father."

Brad showed up then, with a woman on his back. Her short brown hair was held out of her face with a pink headband and her leg was bandaged.

"Her leg was bitten," said Brad. "She should be okay."

"What's your name, Miss?" asked Frank.

"L-Leah," she gulped.

"Let's keep moving," demanded Burt. "I want to get to this safe place."

Suddenly, the bell tower struck seven o'clock. The last rays of red sunlight sank back behind the Willamette Parkview Mall. The heat of the day was suddenly gone, and icy cold rushed in to fill its place. The zombies crowding the door, and the others scattered across the plaza, stopped shuffling aimlessly and turned to the survivors. Their eyes were glowing red, and their bodies were stable.

"This doesn't look good," whimpered Aaron.

"They're smarter," said Frank. A zombie suddenly shrieked into the air and charged at them. Brad shot it down, but not before it had covered a lot of distance. "And faster."

"We've got to get inside that building!" shouted Brad.

Burt opened fire on the much more savage zombies, and they all rushed into the Entrance Plaza. Brad walked forward and opened the gates with his security card. Everyone continued down the dark plaza until they saw some movement inside the bookstore. The gates were still down over the store, and Dr. Barnaby was inside.

"Sir," called Brad, "we need you to come with us!"

"I'm not going with anyone!" Dr. Barnaby shouted back. "Not as long as there're these zombies everywhere!"

"If we get the zombies out of here," reasoned Brad, "will you come with us?"

"I'll do whatever you want with me?" said Dr. Barnaby. "But I'm not coming out until you do, and especially not at night. That's when they're strongest."

"How did you know that?" asked Frank. "How do you know so much about these zombies?"

Dr. Barnaby scowled and looked away. "I've got nothing to say to you."

"That's it, everyone," sighed Brad. "There's nothing we can do, now. Frank, you and I will come back tomorrow once everyone is safe."

"Okay," said Frank. "Let's go back, everyone."

"No," said Megan, "we haven't found my father, yet."

"We're not going to do anything about that at night," said Brad. "It's a long way back to the security room and we need to go before zombies can get us."

"Speaking of zombies," said Burt, "why do you think they're hanging out around that store, up there?"

Everyone looked up. There were a dozen zombies prowling around a shoe store on the second floor. "I bet there's someone up there," said Arthur.

And there was. Frank and Arthur went up, killed the zombies, and found a large man behind a stack of boxes. They lowered them, and the man fell out.

"Thank God someone finally came!" he cried. "I've been up here since last night. I was stacking the last of these products and the whole closet fell on me. I didn't think it would be a holiday, so why didn't anyone come sooner?"

"Well, you see," said Frank, "we're in a bit of a zombie problem."

"Zombies!?" coughed the fat man. "That's terrible."

"Don't worry," said Frank. "I can take you to the security room where you can wait for a helicopter."

"Cool," said Bill. "Just lead the way."

While Frank was leading the way, Megan and Arthur slipped away from the group. It wasn't until they were back at the security room until Brad noticed they were gone.


End file.
